Conflict in Ukraine

The Unwinding of the Post-cold War Order

The crisis in Ukraine and its implications for both the Crimean peninsula and Russia's relations with the West.

The current conflict in Ukraine has spawned the most serious crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. It has undermined European security, raised questions about NATO's future, and put an end to one of the most ambitious projects of U.S. foreign policy -- building a partnership with Russia. It also threatens to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts on issues ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation. And in the absence of direct negotiations, each side is betting that political and economic pressure will force the other to blink first. Caught in this dangerous game of chicken, the West cannot afford to lose sight of the importance of stable relations with Russia.

This book puts the conflict in historical perspective by examining the evolution of the crisis and assessing its implications both for the Crimean peninsula and for Russia's relations with the West more generally. Experts in the international relations of post-Soviet states, political scientists Rajan Menon and Eugene Rumer clearly show what is at stake in Ukraine, explaining the key economic, political, and security challenges and prospects for overcoming them. They also discuss historical precedents, sketch likely outcomes, and propose policies for safeguarding U.S.-Russia relations in the future. In doing so, they provide a comprehensive and accessible study of a conflict whose consequences will be felt for many years to come.

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The collapse of the -Viktor Yanukovych regime? Why is it that when an author is affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the result can be depended upon to be misinformation and disinformation? $6 billion went missing from the US Department of State, and $5 billion was spent in the Ukraine, leading up to the so-called collapse of the democratically elected Ukrainian president. We know from Victoria Nuland's phone call that her suggested replacement for Yanukovych was the next president, et cetera. [Nuland, appointed to State by Hillary Clinton, was formerly defense policy advisor to Dick Cheney, and wife of a founding member of PNAC, Robert Kagan!] The Carnegie Endowment, established by funds from the Carnegie fortune, never really seems to have anything to do with seeking peace - - logical - - as Andrew Carnegie claimed to be seeking peace when he traveled to Germany before World War I, but really went there to sell subs from his shipyards to the Kaiser. The deposed president was presented with an austerity program by the IMF, so instead went with Russia. That was his undoing. . .